Cancer News

American Society of Clinical Oncology, May 30-June 3

The annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology was held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago and attracted approximately 20,000 participants from around the world, including clinicians, academicians, allied health professionals, and others interested in oncology. The conference featured the latest advances in clinical cancer research, with presentations focusing on novel targeted therapies as well as improvements in chemotherapy and radiation therapy approaches.

In one study, Amy Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D., of the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., and colleagues evaluated the impact of continuing or discontinuing statin medication for individuals who had a year or less to live.

The investigators randomized 381 patients who were anticipated to live a year or less and who were on statins as prescribed for primary or secondary prevention of heart disease or stroke. Participants were, on average, 74 years of age or older, and about half had cancer.

"For the primary outcome measure -- 60-day mortality -- there was no significant difference between those who continued or discontinued statin medication; similarly, there was no difference in overall survival," said Abernethy. "In terms of the secondary outcome measures, we found that patients who discontinued statin medications demonstrated significantly improved quality of life, a trend toward improved symptoms and satisfaction with care, and significantly fewer overall numbers of medications other than statins."

The investigators also found that by discontinuing statin medications, patients saved, on average, $3 per day, which would translate to $600 million saved when applied to the 2014 population estimate for people in the last year of life and taking statins.

"Overall, among people with advanced illness, discontinuing statins does not cause harm and may improve quality of life. This is important evidence to inform discussions among patients and physicians working together to determine best ways to manage and simplify medication regimens in the last year of life," said Abernethy.

In a proof-of-principle study, Christian Hinrichs, M.D., of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., and colleagues evaluated a new, highly personalized, cellular therapy for cervical cancer in nine patients.

ASCO: Immune-Based Tx May Help Fight Advanced Cervical CA

TUESDAY, June 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A new type of therapy, human papillomavirus (HPV)-targeted adoptive T-cell therapy, shows promise in treating some women with advanced cervical cancer, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago.

"We found that three patients had objective tumor responses, including one who had a partial response and two who had complete responses (one ongoing 22 months and the other ongoing 15 months after treatment)," said Hinrichs. "These results indicate that adoptive T-cell therapy, which can mediate durable, complete responses in metastatic melanoma, can achieve the same type of dramatic tumor responses in an epithelial cancer. These results warrant continued study of the treatment in cervical cancer."

In the SELECT phase III study, Martin Schlumberger, M.D., of the University Paris-Sud, and colleagues found that an oral medication, lenvatinib, was effective in treating difficult-to-treat differentiated thyroid cancer. Among patients who were resistant to standard radioiodine therapy, the investigators found that lenvatinib delayed disease progression by 14.7 months and led to tumor shrinkage in 65 percent of patients.

"We are confident that, based on our findings, lenvatinib will eventually become a standard treatment for radioiodine-resistant thyroid cancer," said Schlumberger in a statement. "As little as a year ago, this group of patients had no effective treatment options. It's remarkable that we now have two active drugs in this setting, both of them tyrosine kinase inhibitors."

WEDNESDAY, June 4, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The likelihood that patients will suffer a return of colon cancer more than doubles if they eat fish less than twice a week, or if they get less than 60 minutes of moderate exercise a week, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago.

TUESDAY, June 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- New treatment options are available for advanced melanoma, according to three studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago.

MONDAY, June 2, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have developed a breathalyzer that can detect lung cancer and assess whether it is early or advanced, according to findings presented this weekend at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago.

MONDAY, June 2, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have relapsed after initial treatment, the addition of the anti-angiogenesis drug ramucirumab to standard docetaxel chemotherapy extends survival. This finding was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago.

MONDAY, June 2, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For women with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer, the combination of the PARP inhibitor olaparib and the anti-angiogenesis drug cediranib is more effective than olaparib alone. This finding was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago.

MONDAY, June 2, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Enzalutamide, an oral androgen-receptor inhibitor, is superior to placebo for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer before chemotherapy, according a study published online June 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine. This research was published to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago.

MONDAY, June 2, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For premenopausal women with hormone receptor-negative early breast cancer treated with chemotherapy, goserelin can preserve ovarian function, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago.

MONDAY, June 2, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For premenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer, exemestane plus ovarian function suppression (OFS) is superior to tamoxifen plus OFS. This finding was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago.

THURSDAY, May 22, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For men with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-only-based relapse after prostate surgery or radiation therapy, there seems to be little or no survival benefit for immediate initiation of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). These findings have been released in advance of presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago.

FRIDAY, May 16, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Cancer patients rarely demand or receive unnecessary tests and treatments, according to a new study released in advance of presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago.

THURSDAY, May 15, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- In estrogen receptor (ER)+ breast cancer, obesity is positively associated with breast cancer mortality only among pre-/peri-menopausal women, according to new research. These findings have been released in advance of presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, to be held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago.

THURSDAY, May 15, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Implementation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations for low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) lung cancer screening is expected to increase lung cancer diagnoses and increase Medicare expenditure. These findings have been released in advance of presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, to be held from May 30 to June 3 in Chicago.